Share This Story!

Ukraine, Russia looking for way to end fighting

Russia and Ukraine said Wednesday they were moving toward a cease-fire to halt months of bloody fighting as President Obama and other NATO leaders prepared for a summit to deal with the crisis that has threatened a return to Cold War-era tensions.

Ukraine, Russia looking for way to end fighting

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Wednesday that he has reached a permanent cease-fire agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the conflict in eastern Ukraine. But Moscow officials said no specific deal was in place.
VPC

Pro-Russian rebels pass by destroyed Ukrainian military vehicles near the village of Novokaterynivka, eastern Ukraine, on Tuesday.(Photo: Sergei Grits, AP)

Russia and Ukraine said Wednesday they were moving toward a cease-fire to halt months of bloody fighting, as President Obama condemned Moscow's aggression and pledged that NATO will protect allies who fear they could become Russia's next target.

In Washington, the Pentagon said 200 U.S. troops will participate in exercises in western Ukraine starting next week. The annual exercise brings the first U.S. ground troops into the country since Russia took control of Crimea earlier this year and clashed with Ukrainian forces.

Obama's tough remarks came as he and other NATO leaders prepared to meet Thursday in Wales to deal with the crisis that has threatened a return to Cold War-era tensions.

Speaking in Estonia, Obama declared "this is a moment of testing" for the West to stand up to the Kremlin.

Obama blasted what he called Russia's "brazen assault on the sovereign territory of Ukraine.' '' He said Russia "challenges that most basic principle that borders cannot be redrawn at the barrel of a gun."

"We will defend the territorial integrity of every single ally,'' he said.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and agreed on steps for a cease-fire, the Ukrainian leader's office announced Wednesday.

Putin, speaking during a quick trip to Mongolia, outlined what he said was a seven-point plan for peace in eastern Ukraine and said a deal could be final as early as Friday.

He said the rebels should halt their offensive against Ukraine, and Ukrainian government forces should pull back to a distance that would make it impossible for them to use artillery and rockets against residential areas. Putin also urged international monitoring of a cease-fire, a prisoners exchange and humanitarian aid.

Still, Western countries were ratcheting up the pressure on the Kremlin ahead of the NATO meeting in Wales. France said it was delaying the delivery to Russia of the first of two French Mistral navy assault ships. The French-built Vladivostok, the first of two helicopter carriers, was scheduled to be delivered to Russia by late October.

The office of French President Francois Hollande blamed the delay on Moscow's moves in Ukraine.

"Russia's recent actions run against the foundations of security in Europe," Hollande's office said in a statement.

"The president of the (French) republic has concluded that despite the prospect of cease-fire, which has yet to be confirmed and put in place, the conditions under which France could authorize the delivery of the first helicopter carrier are not in place," the statement said.

The 28-nation NATO summit will be dominated by new moves to bolster Ukraine's security and at a time of tightening sanctions by the European Union and the United States over Russia's military involvement in Ukraine.

Ukraine is not a NATO member, and the U.S. and European allies are not obligated to defend it. Poroshenko has said he wants to join the alliance. Russia has long seethed as NATO expanded its membership to include former republics of the old Soviet Union.

Poroshenko voiced hope that Friday's talks in the Belarus capital of Minsk would allow both sides to "take real steps to achieve peace."

Putin's comments followed different accounts by Kiev and Moscow on the phone call between the two heads of state, with Poroshenko saying a permanent cease-fire deal had been reached and Russia saying only the outlines of an agreement were discussed.

Initially, Poroshenko said flatly on Twitter, "As a result of my telephone conversation with Russian President we reached an agreement on a permanent cease-fire on Donbass.'"

Donbass refers to the industrialized region of eastern Ukraine that has been the main battlefield in the months-long fight between Ukrainian troops and the pro-Russian rebels that has left more than 2,600 people dead. It includes the main cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, which have been rebel strongholds.

A subsequent statement released by Poroshenko's office said "mutual understanding was reached regarding the steps that will contribute to the establishment of peace."

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov later confirmed that the two leaders did discuss steps on the possible basis for a cease-fire but said "Russia cannot physically agree on a cease-fire because it isn't a party in the conflict."

Contributing: The Associated Press

A Ukrainian soldier stands next to tanks while preparing to withdraw from the eastern city of Artemivsk. (Photo: Roman Pilipey, epa)

An Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) representative watches the Ukrainian artillery withdrawal near Vasiukovka, Ukraine, in the Donetsk area on Feb. 27, 2015. Ukraine is withdrawing heavy weapons from its front line in the east in order to test whether a peace plan with Russian-backed separatists can work. (Photo: Anastasia Vlasova, European Pressphoto Agency)

A woman in traditional costume lays flowers at the temporary memorial for Maidan activists who were killed during anti-government protest one year ago in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo: Sergey Dolzhenko, European Pressphoto Agency)

Ukrainian prisoners of war stand during a prisoner exchange of Ukrainian troops and separatists rebels in the eastern Ukrainian city of Frunze late Feb. 21. (Photo: Andrei Leble, European Pressphoto Agency)

A boy climbs on a Russia-made trophy artillery rocket system, seized by the Ukrainian troops, at an open-air exhibition in front of the golden-domed St Michael Cathedral, in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo: Efrem Lukatsky, AP)

A handout photo taken and released by the Presidential press-service shows Ukrainian President Petro Posroshenko greets a wounded serviceman during his visit to military hospital in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine, on Feb. 21. (Photo: Michail Palinchak, AFP/Getty Images)

The statue of Goddess Bereginya is illuminated by lights placed where 100 activists were killed during the 2014 anti-government protests on Feb. 20 at Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo: Sergey Dolzhenko, European Pressphoto Agency)

A pro-Russian rebel walks through a destroyed position of Ukrainian forces near the eastern Ukrainian city of Debaltseve on Feb. 20, 2015. Germany and France demanded that a crumbling Ukraine truce be "fully respected" even as pro-Russian rebels celebrated a battlefield victory in a strategic town and exchanged artillery fire elsewhere with government troops. PHOTO / ANDREY BORODULINANDREY BORODULIN/AFP/Getty Images ORIG FILE ID: 538081747 (Photo: Andrey Borodulin, AFP/Getty Images)

Residents line up waiting for a delivery of aid as a Russia-backed rebel guards a pile of weapons and ammunition on Feb. 20outside an administration building in Debaltseve, Ukraine.After weeks of relentless fighting, the embattled Ukrainian rail hub of Debaltseve fell on Feb. 18 to Russia-backed separatists. (Photo: Vadim Ghirda, AP)

A young girl leans on a cart used to carry tree branches for fire, outside a damaged apartment building in Debaltseve, Ukraine. After weeks of relentless fighting, the embattled Ukrainian rail hub of Debaltseve fell Wednesday to Russia-backed separatists. (Photo: Vadim Ghirda, AP)

A woman visits the temporary memorial for Maidan activists on Feb 20 in Kiev, Ukraine. The activists were killed during anti-government protests one year ago near the city's Independence Square. (Photo: Sergey Dolzhenko, European Pressphoto Agency)

A man holding a Ukrainian flag stands vigil at Maidan Square in Kiev. Ukraine is commemorating the first anniversary of the Feb. 20, 2014, sniper attacks that killed dozens of protesters in the Maidan and were followed thereafter by the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich. (Photo: Sean Gallup, Getty Images)

Russia-backed rebels pose by a road sign on Feb. 20, 2015, at the entrance in Debaltseve, Ukraine, after checking the access road into town for mines they suspected were laid down by retreating Ukrainian government troops. After weeks of relentless fighting, the embattled Ukrainian rail hub fell to Russia-backed separatists. (Photo: Vadim Ghirda, AP)

Ukrainian government soldiers who withdrew from Debaltseve prepare to return to support a further pullout of troops on Feb.19 in Artemivsk, Ukraine. Ukrainian forces began withdrawing from the strategic town on Feb. 18 after they were surrounded by pro-Russia rebels. (Photo: Brendan Hoffman, Getty Images)

Pro-Russia rebels fire a volley of Grad missiles at Ukrainian government troops on Feb. 18 near Debaltseve. Ukrainian troops pulled out of Debaltseve after it was stormed by pro-Russia rebels. (Photo: Andrey Borodulin, AFP/Getty Images)

A resident salvages her belongings after her building was heavily damaged during fighting between pro-Russia rebels and Ukrainian government forces in Donetsk. (Photo: Andrey Borodulin, AFP/Getty Images)

A man tries to remove pieces of broken glass from a window in a school damaged by a Grad missile on Jan. 25 in Vostochniy, eastern Ukraine. Thirty people were killed when rockets slammed into a market, schools, homes and shops. (Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka, AP)

Ukrainian servicemen ride an APC in the front-line village of Orlovka near Donetsk. Pro-Russian rebels vowed to conquer more territory in eastern Ukraine and ruled out peace talks after Kiev retreated from a long-disputed airport. (Photo: Oleksandr Stashevskiy, AFP/Getty Images)

Smoke rises near the main terminal of Sergey Prokofiev International Airport during an artillery battle between pro-Russia rebels and Ukrainian government forces on Oct. 12. (Photo: Dmitry Lovetsky, AP)